Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 84670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
“What?”
“If I were to kiss you, would you stop being my friend and hate me again?”
The flush in Liam’s face was instantaneous. It rushed across his face to the tip of his ears and down his throat. It was marvelous. His lips parted on a gasp. Black pupils swallowed up his beautiful hazel eyes. That was not a no.
“Y-you want to kiss me?”
“I do.” Of course I did. He was sexy and adorable, while I was a total glutton for punishment who had to figure out new ways to ruin a good thing. “But if you don’t want me to, I won’t, and I will never ask again.”
Liam licked his lips, and my eyes followed the path of his tongue as it swept over the top lip and then the bottom. Making them shiny, damp, and so enticing. Evil man probably had no idea that his breathing had picked up, making him so fucking enticing it was killing me.
“I don’t know.”
“We could finish the kiss from all those years ago. No one here to stop us.” It was on the tip of my tongue to say that no one was around to see us, but I didn’t ever want him to think that two men kissing was something that had to be hidden.
“And if we kiss and I don’t like it…”
“We don’t do it again. No one’s feelings are hurt.”
“O-o-okay. Let’s do it.” His voice grew stronger, but the slight tremble remained as if he were trying to put on a show of strength. He straightened on the sofa and looked about. “How should we do this?”
“Oh, my God. It’s a kiss. We’re not assembling furniture from IKEA.” I grabbed his arm and pulled him against the couch. “Turn toward me with your shoulder pressed into the cushion.” This way, I could lean forward and kiss him. I wanted him to feel like he could pull away and escape.
As soon as he was in position, I lightly cupped his cheek with one hand, my thumb brushing lightly along his cheek. He watched me with wide, terrified eyes, as if he were expecting me to swallow his soul.
“If it helps, I’ve gotten much better at this over the years.”
Liam smirked and rolled his eyes, but it fell away as I moved. He closed his eyes, and I did the same at the first faint brush of my lips. Like the light touch of dandelion fluff on a summer breeze. I continued slowly, adding a tiny bit of pressure each time I bumped our lips together, giving him a chance to pull away.
But he didn’t move. Stiff and frozen. Almost like kissing a mannequin. Not that I’d ever attempted that.
I told myself, One last time. A true, full kiss. And then I’ll stop if he isn’t into it.
Our mouths met, firm and tender. My lips parted, and the tip of my tongue grazed his full bottom lip. Sweet dampness. Soft flesh.
His mouth finally relaxed, and I felt it. He kissed me back. My heart skipped into my throat and lodged there as the kiss continued. More pressure. More hunger. Liam’s hand landed on my shoulder, but instead of pushing me away, his fingers dug in, holding me in place as those amazing lips parted. My tongue immediately dipped inside that forbidden cavern, and I caressed his tongue with my own.
The most delicious moan I’d ever heard rumbled up Liam’s throat a second before he ripped away from me. His eyes were wide, cheeks flushed, and his mouth hanging open.
I think somebody liked that kiss more than they expected.
16
LIAM ROSE
Kissed him.
I kissed him.
I kissed a fucking guy.
Those words kept repeating in my brain. My lips tingled in memory of his touch, and the area around my mouth burned slightly from the brush of his beard. Even my dick was in on the act, perking up as if begging to somehow get in on this sudden action.
I’d leaped off the sofa and was pacing in a tiny area of the living room, trying to get my brain out of the loop it was stuck in. It didn’t help that every time I looked over at Rome, the man was lounging with the biggest fucking smug smile on his lips while not saying a damn word.
“Don’t say it!” I shouted, pointing my finger at him.
“What? I haven’t said anything.”
“Yeah, but you’re going to.”
His smirk returned. “Say what?”
“You know! But I’m not.”
Rome wiggled on the couch as if he were getting comfortable and folded his hands together on his stomach. “Go ahead. Say it. Get the nonsense out of your system.”
It was as if he’d summoned the denial with his teasing, shutting down my wonderful logical brain. “I’m not gay,” I hissed at him before I could stop the words.
His grin didn’t dim one tiny bit. His eye lit up as if he’d expected those words, even as I hated myself for saying them. Those were the words that my mom had beaten into my brain for too many years, along with the same sense of terror.